Medicare: Retiree Benefits - Kaiser Family Foundation

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Medicare: Retiree Benefits

2006 Kaiser/Hewitt Retiree Health Benefits Survey
The 2006 Kaiser/Hewitt Retiree Health Benefits Survey documents the rising costs of retiree benefits for large private-sector employers and their retirees, looking at benefits, cost-sharing and other changes. It also provides information on employers' evolving strategies to respond to the Medicare drug law and its subsidies for employers that continue to provide drug coverage to Medicare-eligible retirees.

Resources on the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit
A collection of reports, fact sheets, surveys, and other research and background material on the Medicare program's new drug benefit and other provisions of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003.

Recent Documents: (55 results)

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Low-Income Assistance Under the Medicare Drug Benefit -- February 2008
This fact sheet provides an overview of the Medicare drug benefit and the additional subsidies available to certain eligible low-income beneficiaries.

Medicare at a Glance - Fact Sheet -- February 2007
Updated in February 2007, this fact sheet provides a basic overview of the Medicare program, including how it is financed, who is eligible and what benefits are covered under the program. In addition, it describes supplemental health insurance, benefits provided by the new drug law and data on Medicare expenditures and financing.

2006 Kaiser/Hewitt Retiree Health Benefits Survey -- December 2006
The 2006 Kaiser/Hewitt survey of large businesses that provide retiree health benefits to their workers assesses their evolving responses to the new Medicare drug benefit in 2006. It also looks at the rising costs and changing benefits of retiree health coverage overall in 2006, as well as the outlook for 2007 and beyond.

Retired Steelworkers and Their Health Benefits: Results from a 2004 Survey -- May 2006
This Kaiser survey report looks at how the bankruptcies of two steel companies, the LTV Corporation and Bethlehem Steel, affected health coverage for about 200,000 of the companies' retirees and dependents, and it provides insight into the impact of a tax credit enacted by Congress in 2002 to provide temporary assistance to workers and retirees in "distressed" industries, including the steel industry.

Welcome -- April 2006
Talking About Medicare: Your Guide to Understanding the Program: Welcome

This online consumer guide helps people on Medicare and their family members and caregivers to make informed decisions about their health care. It offers answers to basic questions about Medicare eligibility and coverage. It also includes a chapter devoted to the new Medicare prescription drug law and its implications for consumers.

Tracking Prescription Drug Coverage Under Medicare: Five Ways to Look at the New Enrollment Numbers -- February 2006
This issue brief examines five approaches to looking at the latest enrollment numbers for the new Medicare drug benefit and discusses each approach in terms of how it portrays the reach of the new program.

Prospects for Retiree Health Benefits as Medicare Drug Coverage Begins -- December 2005
This new Kaiser/Hewitt survey of large businesses provides an in-depth look at the impact of the Medicare drug law on both retirees and employers in 2006 and beyond. It also looks more broadly at changes in retiree health benefits in 2005.

Displaced by Hurricane Katrina: Issues and Options for Medicare Beneficiaries -- November 2005
This issue brief identifies issues and challenges for individuals on Medicare affected by the hurricane and offers options for addressing these problems during the transition period. This issue brief focuses on subgroups of the Medicare population, including beneficiaries in traditional Medicare, those enrolled in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, and dual eligibles and nursing home residents. It looks at potential transition issues affecting beneficiaries as the new drug benefit is implemented. It also identifies issues to be considered in future disaster planning efforts.

Employer Health Benefits 2005 Annual Survey -- September 2005

This survey provides detailed insights into trends in employer-based health coverage, including changes in premiums, employee contributions, offer rate among firms, and the use of consumer-driven health plans. The 2005 survey included 2,995 randomly selected public and private firms with three or more employees and was conducted and analyzed jointly by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust.

2005 Annual Employer Health Benefits Survey -- September 2005

This fact sheet provides an overview of the Medicare drug benefit and the additional subsidies available to certain eligible low-income beneficiaries.

Updated in February 2007, this fact sheet provides a basic overview of the Medicare program, including how it is financed, who is eligible and what benefits are covered under the program. In addition, it describes supplemental health insurance, benefits provided by the new drug law and data on Medicare expenditures and financing.

The 2006 Kaiser/Hewitt survey of large businesses that provide retiree health benefits to their workers assesses their evolving responses to the new Medicare drug benefit in 2006. It also looks at the rising costs and changing benefits of retiree health coverage overall in 2006, as well as the outlook for 2007 and beyond.

This Kaiser survey report looks at how the bankruptcies of two steel companies, the LTV Corporation and Bethlehem Steel, affected health coverage for about 200,000 of the companies' retirees and dependents, and it provides insight into the impact of a tax credit enacted by Congress in 2002 to provide temporary assistance to workers and retirees in "distressed" industries, including the steel industry.

Talking About Medicare: Your Guide to Understanding the Program: Welcome

This online consumer guide helps people on Medicare and their family members and caregivers to make informed decisions about their health care. It offers answers to basic questions about Medicare eligibility and coverage. It also includes a chapter devoted to the new Medicare prescription drug law and its implications for consumers.

This issue brief examines five approaches to looking at the latest enrollment numbers for the new Medicare drug benefit and discusses each approach in terms of how it portrays the reach of the new program.

This new Kaiser/Hewitt survey of large businesses provides an in-depth look at the impact of the Medicare drug law on both retirees and employers in 2006 and beyond. It also looks more broadly at changes in retiree health benefits in 2005.

This issue brief identifies issues and challenges for individuals on Medicare affected by the hurricane and offers options for addressing these problems during the transition period. This issue brief focuses on subgroups of the Medicare population, including beneficiaries in traditional Medicare, those enrolled in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, and dual eligibles and nursing home residents. It looks at potential transition issues affecting beneficiaries as the new drug benefit is implemented. It also identifies issues to be considered in future disaster planning efforts.

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Medicare: Retiree Benefits

Employer-sponsored health plans play a critical role in filling gaps in health insurance coverage for retirees. For workers who retire in their late fifties or early sixties—before they are eligible for Medicare—employer-sponsored plans offer access to health insurance coverage that retirees may otherwise have difficulty obtaining. For those age 65 and older, employer-sponsored health plans are a vital source of insurance that supplements Medicare by assisting with cost-sharing requirements and paying for benefits that are not covered by Medicare, especially prescription drugs. Employer health plans provide needed coverage to retirees at a time in their lives when they are most likely to face medical problems and need health care that can be prohibitively expensive without the financial protection offered by health insurance.

Over the past decade, however, there has been a steady erosion of retiree health insurance benefits that threatens, in the future, to increase the number of early retirees who may be uninsured before age 65 and to diminish needed supplemental coverage for retirees with Medicare. Looking to the future, there is concern that the recent downturn in the economy, the weakening of the labor market, and double-digit increases in health care costs may hasten the decline of retiree health benefits.